ML20062A574

Motion for ASLB to Compel Intervenor,Northern Thunder,To Respond to Applicant 780825 Interrogatories.Responses Received Evasive & Incomplete & Amount to Failure to Respond

ML20062A574
Person / Time
Site:	05000484
Issue date:	10/03/1978
From:	Baxter T SHAW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROWBRIDGE
To:
References
NUDOCS 7810160091
Download: ML20062A574 (6)

Text

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. 2 g PUBLIC Drm October 3, 1978

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' Q UNITED STATES OF .U1 ERICA

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NUCLEAR P.EGULATORY COIC1ISSION

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Y. N.' &y s

Q BEFORE THE ATCMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD

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%. _. I:f the Matter of )

, n NORTHERN STATES POWER CCMPANY, )

ET AL.

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)

Docket No. ST!.s50-434 (Tyrone Energy Park, Unit 1) ) ,

i PERMITTEES' MOTION TO COMPEL DISCOVERY d OF INTERVENOR NORTHERN THUNDER Pursuant.t6,10 C.F.R.

S 2.740 (f), Permittees hereby move the Atomic Safety and Licensing Board to issue an order compelling intervenor Northern Thunder to answer interrogatories 1.c, 2.a and 2.b of "Permittees' Interrogatories (Set Nc. 3) to Intervenor Northern Thunder," dated August 25, 1973, Section 2.740 (f) provides that if a party upcn whom a request for prcduction of documents or answers to interroga-tories is served fails to respond or objects to the request, or any part thereof, or fails to permit inspection as requested, the party submitting the request may move the presiding officer for an order ccmpelling a response in accordance with the re-quest.

Section 2.740 (f) further provides that, dor the purpcses of that paragraph, an evasive er inc0mplete answer er respense shall be treated as a failure to answer or respond.

Scrthern Thunder has respcnded :c Permittees' inter- ,

rogatories with

• Northern Thunder 's Answers to Per=ittees ' l

, .nn, 1 frio/6oo 9/ G

2-Interrogatories," served on September 20, 1978.-1/ The responses to interrogatories 1.c, 2.a and 2.b, for the ressons set forth below, are evasive and incomplete, amounting to failures to respond as defined in 10 C.F.R. S 2.740(f).

In response to interrogatory 1.c, Northern Thunder states that the question cannot be answered and proceeds with a rhetorical explanation that ". . . resources which (technically]

qualify an electric utility to design and construct a nuclear power plant are not given unto mortals or the institutions of mortals." Northern Thunder, in this response, has chosen neither to answer nor to object to the interrogatory, but rather to argue with it. The answer is unresponsive, incomplete and evasive.

Northern Thunder should be ccmpelled to answer the question seriously, either by setting forth information and knowledge available to it, or by stating that it does not have informa-tion sufficient to formulate an answer, given a described effort to obtain such information. Answers to interrogatories must be ccmplete, explicit and responsive. See 4A Mccre's Federal Practice 'I 33.26. Northern Thunder's answer to interrogatory 1.c is inadequate on all counts.

1/ Pursuant to the schedule adopted by the 3 card in its

.5emerandum and Crder of September 7, 1973 (a schedule to which Northern Thunder agreed) , respenses to discovery re-quests were to have been served by September 13, 19 3.

While Mcrthern Thunder placed the date September 1973, en the first page of its answers, en the last page .. .

clear : hat the answers were signed and served on September 20, 1973. Ncrthern Thunder's respenses are, therefcre, untimely filed, wi hcut leave f cm the Scard and withet:

any explanaticn of the untimeliness.

Interrogatories 2.a and 2.b refer Northern Thunder 1

to portions of the evidentiary record already developed before I this Board. Mr. Ihrig, counsel for Northern Thunder, states

~

t that he does not have cocies of relevant portions of that record l

l and that he has not had time to visit the Commission's local l public document room where these materials are available.

! While the period provided for the preparation of responses to l

l l discovery requests belies the reasonableness of this response, t

t which is not accompanied by a motion for additional time, Per-mittees' interrogatories, of course, are not directed to l

Northern Thunder's counsel alone, but to Northern Thunder r

l the organization, which is a party to this proceeding. In-1 r

formation available to that orcanization, through due dili-gence, must be provided in response to legitimate discovery l requests. It is no excuse that Northern Thunder's counsel l

does not have the requested information at his convenient disposal. There is no recitation here by Northern Thunder or its counsel of any conscientious endeavor by its counsel, officers or nembers, to acquire the information sought.

Neither is tnere the offer of any future effort to seek l and provide the requested information.

l l Northern Thunder then states that the answers to interrogatories 2.a and 2.b are based upon only the portion of the record apparently conveniently available -- the NRC Staff's Safety Evaluation Report. Nevertheless, Ncr:hern Thunder then claims, incongruously, that i will not know

the answers to interrogatories 2.a and 2.b until it has completed discovery of Permittees. These answers, again, are unresponsive, incomplete and evasive. There is no indication that Northern Thunder has endeavored to answer the interrogatories. There is no basis for Northern Thunder to postpone its answers to interrogatories pending the completion of its discovery of Permittees, particularly where Northern Thunder has made no effort to indicate in any specific way which of its discovery requests are relevant and integral to the development of re-sponses to particular interrogatories from Permittees, and where the issues are those raised in the first instance by Northern Thunder.

Permittees therefore respectfully move the Board to issue an order compelling Northern Thunder to answer' fully Pernittees' interrogatories 1.c, 2.a and 2.b.

Respectfully submitted, SETW, PITTMAN, POTTS & TROW 3 RIDGE a

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Thomas A. Baxter Counsel for Permittees 1800 M Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20036 (202) 331-4100 Dated: Cetober 3, 1978

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION BEFORE THE ATOMIC SAFETY AND LICENSING BOARD In the 'iatter of )

)

NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY, )

ET AL. ) Docket No. STN 50-484

)

(Tyrone Energy Park, Unit 1) )

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I hereby certify that copies of the foregoing Permittees' Motion to Compel Discovery of Intervenor Northern Thunder, dated October 3, 1978, were served by deposit in the United States mail, first class, postage prepaid, this 3rd day of Ocrober, 1978, to all those on the attached Se..tice List.

J Ih n H. QA Thomas A. Baxter Dated: October 3, 1973 P

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o ,;

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION In the. Matter of )

)

NORTHERN STATES POWER COMPANY, )

ET AL. - ) Docket No. STN 50-434

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(Tvrone

. Enera.v. Park, Unit 1) ) ,.

S._FP'.* ICE LIST Pichard S. Sal =an, Esquire, Chairran James P. Altran, r@e Atanic Safeef and Licensing Appeal Scard Assistant Attorney General U.S. Nuclear Seculatcry Ccrrission Departnent of Justice Washingten, D.C. 20555 State Capitol

.v2disen, Wisconsin 53702 Michael C. Farrar, Esquire At ntic Safety and Licensing Appeal Ecard Mrs. Harold C. Sauer U.S. Nuclear Regulaterf CccrJission Route 1, 30x 191 Washingten, D.C. 20555 Rock Falls, Wisa::nsin 54764 Dr. W. Faed Jchnson Jocelyn Furesangler Olson, Esgaire Atanic Safety and Licensir.g Appeal Board Special Assistant Attorney General U.S. Nuclear Pegulatcry Carlssion Minnesota Pollutien Centrol Agency Washingten, D.C. 20555 1935 W. Cctmtry Pcad 32 Ecseville, Minnescta 55113 Ivan W. Smith, Esquire, Chairan Atcmic Safety and Licensing Ecard Richard Ihrig, Esquire U.S. Nuclear Fagulatcr/ Ccrrissien 400 E:c ange Snd'd hg Washingten, D.C. 20555 4th and Center Winena, Minnesota 55987 Dr. Gecrge C. Andersen Cceancgraphy repartrent, NE-10 Michael J. Cain, Esqcire University of Washing cn Eureau of I.egal Services Seattle, Washingten 98195 Deparrant cf Natural Fascu ces Sex 7921 Mr. Iester Kornblith, Jr. Madisen, Wiscensin 53707 Atanic Safety and Licensing Scard U.S. Nuclear Regulater! Carissien Steven M. Schur, Esquire Washington, D.C. ~20555 Chief Ccunsel Public Ser/ ice Carissica of Wisc:nsin Stephen H. Lewis, Escuire Hill Farr.s State Cffice Building Cffice of the I:<ecutive Legal Directer 4502 Shel:cyga. Avenue

. U.S. Nuclear Fagulatcry Carissien Wa%T., Wiscensfr. 53702 Washing:cn, D.C. 20555

v.  ::- -7ey cider Iccketing and Se: tice Secticn c/c 'h::and Pcscaster  ;

Office cf 9.e Secrecary  ?/rene, Wiscensi. 54736

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U.S. Nuclear Re;clancr/ Cardsicn Washing en, D.C. 20535 Mr. 2.creas Gala:en Ecute 2, Ecx 54

?J.r:la I.ake, Wisccnsi. 34359